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Topic: Tips for a beginner? (Read 2309 times)

Now I know this is a long shot, but I want to learn to draw, in the manga style. So I'm just asking for some tips - where do I even start? How do I improve? What should I know about, what should i do and not do? Anything will help! I've been doing some rough sketches and I'm seeing progress, but not much - tips from artists would be greatly appreciated. How did you learn to draw? :)

1. Practice, nothing happens overnight2. Study anatomy, you need to know the body in order to draw it3. Accept criticism, it is the fastest way to improve your art4. Practice, you won't get better unless you keep trying and failing5. Practice, it will take years but eventually you will be good

I know I need to practice - I meant more along the lines of where do I begin the practice? Are there certain things I should practice? Guidelines? Faces? Etc. And thank you, I know a lot about anatomy , I know how important it is:)

1) Experiment - You can practice the same thing over and over again, but what helps artist improve and develop is their willingness to try new things, both minor and major.

2) Video tutorials - Picture guidelines are fine, but I prefer watching video tutorials as you can see the artist corrections and progress; especially as they're talking about what they are doing and why they are doing it. I would like to note of avoiding speed painting and/or time laps videos for those trying to learn and develop.

3) Life Practice - Simple sketches of people and objects are a good way to warm up you fine motor skill and observation. And remember that these are just sketches, they don't need to look pretty.

4) Breaking things down - It nice practice to draw out the whole body for both men and women, but it can help out a lot simply to break the body parts down and focus on pieces. For example, drawing arms, hips, feet, mouth, etc.

5) Practice with discretion - You do need to build a healthy habit of practicing art, but more importantly you need to be open to what you want to practice. You need design a plan or schedule of what you will practice, how much, and when. But one thing I would encourage is to have a free sketch at you end of practice. For example, you decide to have 1 hour of practice, give yourself 10 minutes at the end to freely sketch what you want to sketch.

I'll keep mine simple:>Draw from life. If you can't draw what's right in front of you, you'll never draw something from your head. That's a cold hard fact. Deal with it. It's boring and difficult for complex things, but you will never regret the hours you put into doing this.>Don't compare your art to others. You can't compare your level one to someone else's level fifty, and everyone goes at a different pace.>Practice doesn't make perfect. It makes habit. If you continually practice drawing something like a hand or a foot in a way that doesn't look right, it'll be harder to fix. You have to be fully aware of everything you're doing when you're working on a piece, down to the 3D construction that goes into the shapes you use as your wireframe or guidelines. >Don't get caught up in what your style is. Don't even bother about style. Style is what comes naturally to your art. That's it. Don't think about it too hard, and especially don't use style as an excuse to disregard criticism.>Don't whine if you disagree with someone's criticism. Take it for what it is anyway, unless they're just being an absolute jackass.

Know that it could take a while, and that keeping an open mind helps. Also, ask lots of questions. Not necessarily for others though. Asking what is line, shadow, what makes a character, what is volume? Things of that nature, things to clarify what exactly you do and don't know. Half the trouble is filling your head with knowledge, the other half is actually figuring out how to use it, and then of course, forcing yourself to 'use' it.

For me the key to drawing is understanding, so knowledge is very important. experience is the best way to gain your own knowledge, ie. your own study of the body, the face, etc. practice is important too, but make sure to analyse your own work in between practices so you actually improve rather than drawing the same wrong thing again :P